Sunday Dare: Our Preparations, Not Just For Tokyo 2020

The Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, on Thursday said the ministry was already looking beyond Nigeria’s participation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for better performance.

Dare, while declaring open the 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) in Abuja said the move will ensure Nigeria prepares well for major international sporting events.

The minister who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Adesola Olusade, explained that progress has been made by the ministry for corporate organisations and charitable individuals to take up sports sponsorship.

“The Olympics holds every four years but the preparations and level of preparedness which goes into it take more than four years.

“So, we have commenced preparations for the Tokyo Games with the inauguration of the `Ministerial Committee on Tokyo 2020.

“However, preparations for the next Olympics after Tokyo, as well as other international sports events, should start now if we want to achieve success at the world stage,” Dare said.

The minister, who has emphasised the importance of corporate sponsorship of sports activities to complement government’s intervention, said efforts in that regard have started yielding results.

“We have secured the support of Dangote Group to renovate the main bowl of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja. We have also secured similar support for the National Stadium in Lagos,” he said.